Win32 Disk Imager is a compact application that allows you to create an image file from a removable storage device such as an USB drive or an SD memory card. It can be used to back up the information stored on the device in order to restore it later.

The upper hand of a portable app

You are not required to go through an installation process, as this product is portable. This also means that, unlike installers, it is not going to add new items to the Windows registry and hard drive, and no leftovers will remain on the disk after you delete it.

Another important aspect, is that you can take Win32 Disk Imager anywhere with you and run it on any PC you come in contact with, by simply placing the program files to an external data device.

Write bootable images

Unlike other backup programs, this tool creates a replica of the device instead of simply copying the containing files. This allows you to restore the disc contents to its original state without any modification and to write bootable images.

This also recommends it for backing up U3 devices in order to preserve their settings and not only the files. You only need to select the device through a drop-down menu and the folder path to the IMG with the help of a file browser.

Approximate time left and calculate MD5 checksum

It is important to keep in mind that it can only create IMG files for removable devices and not for hard drive partitions or entire disks. A progress bar, a completion percentage and copy speed is displayed in the main window during the image creation process, so as to let you know the time left until it is complete.

Aside from creating and writing IMG files this program can also generate an MD5 hash algorithm that can help users to identify certain images. This can be useful if you backup several USB devices that have the same size as it prevents restoring a different image, and it possible to copy it to the Clipboard for use in another utility.

A last assessment

The computer’s performance is not hindered in any way, the response time is quite adequate, the interface is intuitive and simple, and we did not come by any errors, crashes or bugs in our tests.

If you only need to back up the files from a removable device, other backup programs can save a lot of disk space. For an exact copy of the drive, Win32 Disk Imager is your go to piece of software.

Win32 Disk Imager was reviewed by Madalina Boboc, last updated on July 8th, 2014